I had the distinct privilege of sharing my experiences as part of a panel discussion of family business owners recently. One question posed to the panel was how do you balance the role of being a parent with simultaneously being the employer of the younger generation? The following is a summation of my answer:

I pay my kids in Twizzlers. Seeing as they are 5 and 3, this totally makes sense.

My father and I have always had a strong relationship where we could discuss issues rationally and without strong emotional charge. He has always been a key advisor, sharing his wisdom with me throughout my life as he saw fit. Any time I made a mistake or needed support from him we would simply sit down, one on one and discuss the matter. Typically with his answers being wiser and better thought out than mine. We continued this pattern as we began working together. Anytime I made an error that needed his attention, we would sit down and discuss it very rationally. He also insisted that I follow the same pattern of semi-annual performance reviews as all other employees. For the first few years of my employment, this review was carried out by management member that was not family. I received pay changes at the same rate and frequency as everyone else.

We try diligently to talk about things other than work when we see each other outside the office. I have detected a pattern that the business discussion may come first, getting it out of the way and freeing our minds for other subjects. We are both acutely aware that we never want our relationship to be only about work, but the opportunity to work together just an enhancement of an already strong bond about so much more.